Sapphire clinches $144 million for New Mexico algae biorefinery

Eco Seed Staff

San Diego-based Sapphire Energy secured $144 million in investment funding for the development of their commercial demonstration-scale algae-to-energy facility in New Mexico.
The amount came from a Series C investment round which included main backers Arrowpoint Partners and Monsanto.
All in all, Sapphire Energy has received a total of around $300 million in funding from private and public sources for its "Green Crude Farm."
To be built in Luna County, the facility is called an "Integrated Algal BioRefinery" that will incorporate all steps for producing the company's Green Crude algae-based fuel – from growing the algae to processing and refining it to fuel.
Sapphire was previously awarded a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy and a $54.4 million loan guarantee from the Department of Agriculture's biorefinery assistance program.
Construction will create around 750 new direct and indirect jobs in the nearby communities and around 30 to 40 permanent jobs in the facility itself. – EcoSeed Staff